Chapter 63 63 I will be involved in a case with several detectives...

Xu Nian called during dinner time.

The three of them were so engrossed in the discussion that they were too lazy to go out for dinner, so they simply ordered takeout. Guan Xiazheng and Pang Le were enjoying their meal when the cell phone suddenly rang.

Everyone was waiting for this call, so the moment the ring rang, including Ji An, they all raised their heads suddenly and looked at Guan Xia with both expectant and inquiring eyes. It was not until Guan Xia glanced at the caller, nodded in confirmation and said it was Xu Nian that they suddenly quickened their eating.

After answering the phone, Guan Xia's tone was filled with anticipation, "Has your application been approved?"

Xu Nian's voice, tinged with laughter, said, "It's approved. Director Ren has even notified the internal staff to prepare a report on reopening the backlog. I've got the case file. How can we communicate? Should we talk directly over the phone, or should I come to you, or should you come to me?"

Guan Xia replied, "Wait a moment." Then, covering the microphone with her hand, she whispered to Pang Le and Ji An, "Xu Nian has the case file. He asked if he should come find us, or should we go find him?"

Pang Le took the lead and said, "I'm fine with anything. I have a car anyway. It's up to you guys."

Guan Xia looked at Ji An. She pondered for a few seconds, then asked, "Can you share the autopsy report, relevant physical evidence, and the surveillance video from the night of the incident with us?"

Although she had guessed Xu Nian's answer, Guan Xia still repeated Ji An's question exactly as she had guessed. As expected, Xu Nian replied, "Of course. I raised this question when I requested the file from Director Ren. Director Ren's response was that as long as it's a case you bring up, we can provide any information you want."

Guan Xia was a little surprised. Although she had never met Director Ren mentioned by Xu Nian, from what Xu Nian said, she seemed to have gained his full trust, which made her feel both novel and a little strange.

Suppressing the chaotic emotions that suddenly surged in her heart, Guan Xia covered the microphone and repeated Xu Nian's words. After receiving Ji An's affirmative answer, she said, "Then we'll go find you."

Guan Xia said, glancing at the time, "It's just six o'clock now, there might be some gambling on the car, we will probably arrive around seven o'clock."

"Okay," Xu Nian said, "I'm just sorting out some clues related to the case, so I'll go to the cafeteria to have a meal and then wait for you to come."

Guan Xia spent a few more minutes finishing the rest of the meal, hurriedly took the water handed to him by Pang Le, drank it all, then jumped up from his seat and set off.

It was about the time Guan Xia estimated. When they arrived at the Pingjiang District Branch, it was exactly 7:05. Xu Nian was standing at the gate and waved to them the moment he saw them.

The few of them successfully met. Guan Xia took a special look at Xu Nian's wound. The annoying gauze on his forehead had been removed, but because most of the wound was in his hair, only the tail of the scar could be vaguely seen. It looked like it had healed well. The small scratches and scars on his face had all fallen off, leaving only a little red mark. The abrasions and scabs on his arms looked shocking, but judging from Xu Nian's relaxed movements, it did not affect him much.

After a simple greeting, Xu Nian led the three of them upstairs. When they walked into the office of their second squadron, Guan Xia was a little surprised that there were other people there.

"Hello, Guan Xia," Wang Yu said, shaking hands in a friendly manner. "We meet again. I had a feeling we would meet many times in the future."

Guan Xia looked at Wang Yu's smiling round face and was also very happy. "I had the same feeling, but I didn't expect to meet him in your office."

After the two shook hands, Wang Yu immediately introduced them: "This is Jiang Yingyao, the deputy captain of our second squadron. We all call him Brother Jiang."

Guan Xia readily called out "Brother Jiang".

Compared to Xu Nian, Jiang Yingyao was much gentler. His eyes narrowed into slits from laughing. He shook Guan Xia's hand with some force, "It's true that hearing about someone is worse than meeting them in person. Guan Xia, thank you very much for your help to our police."

After the greetings, everyone sat down at the conference table. The information of the people related to the case, as well as some photos of physical evidence, were listed on the whiteboard in front of them. Wang Yu stood in front of the table and began to introduce the situation of the case. Compared with what Guan Xia learned from the materials, it was obviously more detailed.

Wang Yu shone a laser pointer on Sha Guoliang's photo and said, "On June 11, 2022, at 4:32 a.m., the police center received a report that a middle-aged man had been killed at home. When we arrived at the crime scene, the victim was already dead. The forensic autopsy determined that the time of death was approximately 2 a.m. on June 11. The deceased was stabbed twice, both in the chest. The first knife pierced the third rib, leaving a very obvious notch on the surface of the rib. The second knife passed through the gap between the third and fourth ribs, pierced the pulmonary artery and entered the right atrium, causing the deceased's death. The trace examination at the scene confirmed through blood splatter analysis that this was the first crime scene. We did not find fingerprints at the scene, but we did find half a bloody footprint. According to the footprint expert's identification, the suspect is about 1.6 to 1.65 meters tall and weighs about 55 to 60 kilograms. It is very likely a woman. Because the edges of the bloody footprints are not clear, the experts were unable to provide more specific investigation information."

The height is between 1.6 and 1.65 meters. Guan Xia carefully recalled the scenes in the video. Although Yuan Yue was squatting, because of Sha Junhao's exact height, after comparison, it is indeed within this range.

Wang Yu introduced Sha Guoliang's identity information, which was similar to what Guan Xia saw in the information, but then mentioned his rape record in 2001.

Wang Yu said: "It is worth noting that Sha Guoliang has a criminal record. In 2001, he sexually assaulted a woman, causing multiple soft tissue contusions. After the victim reported the crime to the police, Sha Guoliang confessed. He was imprisoned in July 2001 and released in May 2007. After his release, he returned home and took over the family supermarket. In September 2007, he began to harass Cen Cuiman, the victim of his rape. Cen Cuiman tried to call the police several times, but was blocked by her family. She eventually divorced her then-husband Sun Kangyu in September 2009 and remarried Sha Guoliang in October."

These words contained a lot of information. Not only Pang Le, but Guan Xia was also a little surprised. It took them a while to realize that Cen Cuiman had a husband before marrying Sha Guoliang, but during Sha Guoliang's entanglement, he not only failed to protect her well, but even chose to divorce in the end.

Guan Xia couldn't imagine what Cen Cuiman felt when she married Sha Guoliang. And there was that line: Cen Cuiman tried to call the police, but was stopped by her family. Who were these family members? Her parents? Was her ex-husband Bao included?

And what about Sha Junhao? What happened during those two years when his mother was harassed? What feelings did he finally have to live with the rapist who had hurt his mother? When did he first develop the urge to kill? How long had he practiced the knife he used to kill the innocent young woman? And how did he and Yuan Yue come to an agreement to exchange lives? What motivated Yuan Yue to kill her friend? Was it also driven by such deep hatred? But if there was hatred, how could one become friends with their enemy?

What Guan Xia couldn't understand the most was that after killing her friend, how could she get along with her friend's parents so naturally as if nothing had happened? What was her purpose?

Guan Xia felt her head was in a mess. While she was lost in thought, she glanced at Pang Le and found that Pang Le's face was also wrinkled, and he was obviously in the same confusion as her.

Wang Yu continued his introduction to the case, "The technical team tested the physical evidence found at the scene and the contents of the deceased's stomach and found that the deceased had consumed a large amount of alcohol before his death and was clearly intoxicated at the time of his death. We also found ingredients of sleeping pills in the deceased's stomach contents. We infer from this that this is why the deceased did not show any signs of struggle at the time of his death. In addition, we also found a bottle of sleeping pills with only three pills left at the scene and an unopened bottle of sleeping pills. A prescription from the People's Hospital was found in the plastic bag containing the sleeping pills. We went to the hospital to ask the attending physician for confirmation. The deceased's wife, Cen Cuiman, suffered from very severe mental weakness and had been treated at the People's Hospital for three years. The technical team tested the water cup on the dining table in the deceased's home and found fingerprints of the deceased, Sha Guoliang, and his wife, Cen Cuiman, on it. By looking at the overlapping order, we preliminarily confirmed the authenticity of Cen Cuiman's confession. Sha Guoliang mistakenly took the water cup that Cen Cuiman used to take sleeping pills while intoxicated."

As soon as Wang Yu finished speaking, Guan Xia, Pang Le and Ji An frowned at the same time.

"Wait a minute," Pang Le asked quickly, "Did you take the wrong cup of water with sleeping pills? Aren't sleeping pills swallowed whole? What does this have to do with whether you took it by mistake or not?"

Wang Yu explained: "In addition to mental weakness, Cen Cuiman also suffered from severe depression. Two years before the incident, she had already had difficulty swallowing medication, so she would dissolve her sleeping pills directly in a cup and drink them."

Pang Le was a little surprised, "Other medicines too?"

Wang Yu nodded. "So, she has a lot of water cups at home. Cen Cuiman labels each one, but Sha Guoliang still often takes the wrong one when he's drunk. He's already had this experience before, and we confirmed it during our visit."

Pang Le didn't ask any more questions, but there was still doubt between his brows. It was obvious that he had the same idea as Guan Xia. It sounded reasonable, but it always made people feel that it was a bit too coincidental.

Wang Yu waited for a few seconds, and when no one else spoke, he continued, "During our subsequent investigations and visits, we learned that Sha Guoliang had a very poor relationship with his wife Cen Cuiman and son Sha Junhao. Especially Sha Junhao, the two often had fierce arguments and serious physical friction. In March 2021 and April 2022, he stabbed Sha Guoliang twice and he was hospitalized. However, because the injuries were minor, Sha Guoliang did not pursue the matter, and ultimately no case was filed. We also discovered that three days before the incident, Sha Junhao had extensively destroyed surveillance cameras in the residential complex where the deceased Sha Guoliang lived and in the surrounding alleys. This caused great interference to our subsequent investigation after the incident."

No wonder Yuan Yue was a novice but was never discovered by the police. It turned out that Sha Junhao helped a lot in such a simple and crude way.

Wang Yu said: "Because of his behavior, we aroused our suspicion and listed him as a suspect with a major crime suspicion for investigation. However, it was eventually confirmed that he had a very sufficient alibi on the night of the crime. On the night of the crime, Cen Cuiman was working the night shift as a cleaner at a bar. She left home at 8 o'clock and got home at 4:30. Sha Junhao also left home at 8 o'clock and got home at 4:30. He was loitering at the door of the bar the whole time, playing games with his friends. There were not only witnesses but also surveillance video to testify. We eventually ruled out the suspicion that he was the direct perpetrator, but the subsequent investigation was in the direction of whether he might be an accomplice. Although Sha Junhao was only 20 years old, he had a complex social circle. Most of the friends he made were marginalized people with complex social relationships. After a detailed investigation, we found nothing."

"As for Cen Cuiman," Wang Yu said, looking at her photo, "compared to Sha Junhao, her social relationships are very simple. She's cut off contact with her family and friends, and doesn't interact much with her colleagues at the bar. Aside from Sha Junhao picking her up and dropping her off at get off work, she keeps to herself the rest of the time. She attempted suicide twice before the incident, and after being rescued, she became even more withdrawn. According to neighbors, she used to occasionally go grocery shopping with them and chat when they ran into each other, but she hasn't spoken a word since then, and even when they greeted her, she ignored them."

After Wang Yu finished recounting the general process of their investigation into the case, she sat down and, along with the others, looked at Guan Xia eagerly.

Guan Xia couldn't wait to pull the sketch out from the pile of information and pushed it over. When Xu Nian took it and looked at it carefully, she said, "This is the suspect I found who is suspected of being related to this case. Her name is Yuan Yue, and she is from Fu'an City, Guanglin Province. Coincidentally, she also has an unsolved case. The deceased also died in 2022, and the cause of death was also a sharp weapon piercing the heart."

As soon as these words came out, the three members of the Second Squadron present immediately understood what was going on. Without much communication, they just exchanged glances. Wang Yu then took the sketch and said, "I'm going to investigate her identity information now."

Jiang Yingyao said, "I'll take people to investigate her movements in Yongquan City over the past 22 years."

The two of them quickly waved and greeted Guan Xia, then disappeared from the office very quickly.

Guan Xia looked at Xu Nian and asked hesitantly, "What are we going to do?"

Xu Nian thought for a moment and replied, "You've already laid out the correct answers before us. Actually, there's nothing we need to do. But if you want to participate, you can check out the surveillance footage. You and Pang Le have both seen the suspect and are familiar with her physique and appearance. Perhaps you can find any trace of her from the surveillance footage."

It was Ji An who watched the surveillance video of the last case. Guan Xia had no involvement at all. Now, after hearing what Xu Nian said, he suddenly became interested.

Pang Le was the same, his eyes even brighter than Guan Xia's. He just agreed while muttering, "Guan Xia remembers it, but I don't have any impression."

Guan Xia looked at Ji An, who readily agreed. He nodded and asked, "Where should we watch it? Right here?"

Xu Nian said, "I've applied for a computer from the office staff, and Director Ren has already approved it. If you don't mind, you can take a look here."

Guan Xia certainly didn't mind. She had never thought that one day she would be involved in solving a case with several criminal police officers. Even though Xu Nian brought the computer, she still felt like she was dreaming.